Nets rally late for 111-105 victory over Bucks, who played again without Antetokounmpo and Lillard

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cam Johnson scored 29 points, Noah Clowney added 20 and the Brooklyn Nets rallied late for a 111-105 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.

Nic Claxton had 13 points for the Nets, who had lost eight of 10 before making 16 of 38 3-pointers against a Milwaukee squad that was playing a third straight game without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

With their top two scorers out, the Bucks got 21 points from Khris Middleton, 20 from Brook Lopez, 18 from Bobby Portis and 14 from Gary Trent Jr. while shooting 50.7% from the floor and 39.5% on 3-point attempts.

Nets: Brooklyn snapped a three-game losing streak at Milwaukee, where its most recent victory had been Feb. 26, 2022. The Nets return on Jan. 2 for the final meeting between the teams looking to clinch their first season series victory in four years.

Bucks: Lopez has scored 10 or more points in each of his last five games and has 41 points in his last two.

After trailing the entire second half, Brooklyn rattled off a 7-0 run late in the fourth to pull ahead 99-97. After Middleton scored to tie it, the Nets pulled ahead with a 3-pointer from Clowney and went up by four when Claxton split a pair of free throws with 1:57 to play. Middleton's 3 made it a one-possession game but Johnson converted a four-point play on the other end to put the Nets up 109-102 with 47 seconds to play.

Lopez scored 11 straight points in the second quarter but had just two points after halftime.

The Bucks travel to Chicago to face the Bulls on Saturday night, while the Nets return to Brooklyn to host San Antonio before heading back out on the road to close out 2024.

AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA

Brooklyn Nets' Shake Milton tries to get past Milwaukee Bucks' Gary Trent Jr. during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Tyrese Martin tries to get past Milwaukee Bucks' Delon Wright during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton shoots in front of Milwaukee Bucks' Khris Middleton during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Ben Simmons dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Cameron Johnson tries to get past Milwaukee Bucks' Taurean Prince during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Cameron Johnson dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Ben Simmons dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)